Cotton-gin feeder



(N0 Mbdel.)

M. L. NIX

COTTON GIN EEEEEE.

Patented Apr.3, 1883.

UNITED STATES PATENT Orrrca.

MANNING L. NIX, OF PARIS, TEXAS.

COTTON-GIN FEEDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 274,961, dated April 3, 1883.

Application filed June 17,1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, M. L. NIX, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Paris, in the county of Lamar and State ofTeXas, have invented a new and valuable Improvement in Cotton-Gin Feeders; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being bad to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, and to the letters andfigures of reference marked thereon.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a plan view of my device. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the same, and Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view.

This invention has relation to cotton -gin feeders; and it consists in the construction and novel arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims appended.

My object is to provide for the cotton-gin in general use a cheap and etl'ectivefeeder, automatic in its action and adapted to gins of varying sizes.

Referring by letter to the accompanying drawings, a designates the frame or casing of the gin-feeder, which rests on and above the gin, and is operated by a belt running from a pulley on the saw-shaft of the cotton-gin to a pulley on the end of the drum-shaft in the feeder. The casing to forms the hopper, into which the cotton is placed or thrown, and its bottomis made of alternating sections b and c, the-sections b being connected to front and rear cross-bars, cl d, directly, and the sections cbeing located between the slats e of these sections, as shown. A rod, f, traverses the easing a near its lower edge, and to this rod f are connected, near their rear ends, by looprodsg and staples g, the slats of the alternating sections of the hopperbottom, b and 0. These alternating sections b and 0 have their respective slats provided near their front ends with depending bended or hooked arms h, the hooks h of which engage alternating cranks it" ota crank-shaft, it, which, when operated, gives them an alternating rising and falling motion. While one set of slats is feeding onward the cotton the other set is being drawn back beneath the mass of cotton to in turn means of the elongated slots a in the ends of its frame, one of these slots being shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, set-screws a, above and below the shaft a, being employed to hold the comb to its adjustment. The object ofthe adjustment is to permit the comb to be raised or lowered to suit either fast-feeding or slowfeediug cotton-gins.

S designates the ordinary screen through which the dust passes.

t designates the ordinary drum, having a miter-gear, 20, upon one end ofits shaft, and a pulley, u, upon the other end, to receive the band from the saw-shaft of the cotton-gin.

The oscillatory or vibratory comb 1 may be connected with the drum of the feeder by a belt running from a pulley. on the drum-shaft to a pulley, 0, on the shalt n. A shaft, 12, has its hearings in brackets at one side of the casing a, and is provided with a miter'gear, 'w, meshing with the miter-gear a on the drumshai't. A screw-gear, 00, at its front end en; gages the teeth of a cog-wheel, as, on the crank-shaft k. A ratchet-wheel, 7c, is interposed between the cog-wheel w and the side of the casing a, and is secured to the crankshaft by a set-screw in the ordinary manner. A detent, z, is pivoted to the side of the case a, and engages the ratchet-wheel k and prevents a backward movement of the crankshaft lc.

The feeder sometimes fails to feed the cotton onwardly as rapidly as may be desired; and to enable theattendauttoremedythisdefect,when it occurs, the shaft 10 is provided with a crankhandle, y, as shown, which may be grasped by the operator to accelerate the feed.

I am aware that an adjustable oscillating rake or comb is not new in cotton-gin feeders, and I do not broadly claim this feature herein.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s-

1. In a cotton-gin feeder, the combination, withthe driving mechanism, of the alternating 5 sections 1) and c, the shaft or rodf, loop-rods g and staples g,the crank-shaft k,and hooked rods h h, substantially as specified.

2. In acotton-gin feeder, thecombinati0n,with the alternating sections of the feeder-bottom 10 and mechanism for operating the same, of the adjustable comb I, the crank-shaft n, hingeconnection 19, arm q, and cross-bar r, substantially as specified.

In testimony that I claim the above I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence 1 of two witnesses.

MANNING LAFAYETTE NIX.

Witnesses:

SAM STROTHER, H. R. MORGAN. 

